Overhead urban railway



March 4, 1958 l 1.. CHADENSON 2,825,291

OVERHEAD'URBAN RAILWAY FiledFeb. 12, 1953 7 Sheets-Sheet l I March 4,1958 L. CHADENSON 2,825,291

OVERHEAD URBAN RAILWAY File d. Feb. 12, 1953 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 March 4, 1958 Filed Feb. 12, 1953 L. CHADENSON.

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March 4, 1958 L; CHADE-NSON OVERHEAD URBAN RAILWAY Filed Feb. 12, 1 955 '7 Sheets-Sheet 4 L. CHADENSON OVERHEAD URBAN RAILWAY March 4, 1958 '7 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Feb. 12. 1953 IHH I! l I 1 l l I l I I I l llllll i IA!!! 1 lllll l wmk I March 4, 1958 L. CHADENESON 2,8

OVERHEAD URBAN RAILWAY 7 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed Feb. 12. 1953 Ma n-ch 4, 1958 L. CHA DENSON 2,825,291

OVERHEAD URBAN RAILWAY "Filed Feb. 12. 1953 "I Sheets-Sheet 7 United States Patent OVERHEAD URBAN RAILWAY Lucien Charlenson, Paris, France, assignor to Socicte Anonyme Francaise dEtudes de Gestron et iiEnti-eprises, Paris, France Application February 12, 1953, Serial No. 336,585

. Claims priority, application France December 18, 1952 3 Claims. (Cl. 104-94) A first object of the invention is to provide transportation means designed more particularly yet not exclusively for use in towns and inhabited areas.

A further object of the invention is to provide urban and suburban public transportation means which can be established at much lower cost than an underground or an elevated railway.

A further object of the invention is to provide public transportation means involving frequent stops while ensuring high average speeds as a result of high accelerations and decelerations.

A further object of the invention is to provide comfortable and noiseless public transportation means.

Still another objectof the invention is to provide tracks to guide vehicles which may or not be coupled with one another and which are suspended on trolleys running on rising and falling gradients comparable to those which are admissible in road construction.

Further objects and purposes of the invention will appear from the following description which is given for the purpose of exemplification and by no means of limitation and in which reference is had to the appended draw-- ings in which:

Figure 1 is a diagrammatical general view of a car train running on its track. 4 x

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of the track and a car taken on line II-II in Fig. 1

Figure 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of a car-supporting trolley taken on line HL-III in Fig. 2 and drawn to a reduced scale.

Figure 4 is a top plan view of a trolley resting on' the track, the braces for the L-sectioned beams being assumed to be broken away.

Figure 5 is a side view of a double-track railway line supported by a gantry.

.Figure 5a isa cross-sectional view of the same doubletrack railway line.

Figure 6 is a side elevational view of another portion of a double-track railway line supported by T-shaped standards. 1

Figure 6a is a cross-sectional view of the same portion of a double-track railway line. Figure 7 is a top plan view of a switch in one of its positions. s T

' Figures Sand 9 are diagrammatical views of the switch in its two positions.

Figure 10 is a sectional .view taken: on lin'e X-X in Fig. 7. 1 2' i'Figure 111is a sectional viewtakenon line XI-+XI in Fig. 7.

ice

Figure 12 is a sectional view taken on line XII-XII in Fig. 7.

'1 me transportation installation which provides the subject matter or this invention resides in the combination of a trachformed of a continuous succession of sections supported by gantries 21 or by standards 22 with vehicles the bodies 23 of which are suspended at their tops from trolleys 24 which run on and are guided by said track sections 20. Said tracks may be erected over built up town quarters as shown in Fig. l or over avenues and parallel therewith.

The lines are preferably of the double-track type. Each track is made up of successive sections 2t) which may be made of reinforced concrete or of steel and which are separated from one another by narrow gaps 28 intended to allow the sections to expand. In certain sections of the line, the double track may be supported by a pair of gantries 21 similar to the ones shown in front view in Fig. 5 and in side view in Fig. 5a. The legs of each pair of gantries 21 supporting the adjacent ends of two successive sections are inclined in opposite directions relative to the direction of the track and bear on a common pier 18, whereby the line section is braced longitudinally against such actions as may be exerted thereupon consequent to rough acceleration or deceleration of the vehicles running on the tracks.

In other portions of the line the various sections 20 of the permanent way are supported by T-shaped standards 22 of which Fig. 6 is a front view and Fig. 6a a side view. The two companion standards which support each one end of two adjacent sections of the permanent way are inclined in opposite directions in order to provide for the longitudinal bracing of the line, and they may be rested on a common pier 19. The successive standards 19 may be arranged e. g. in the center lane of an avenue separating the uptown from the downtown roadway. It remains within the scope of this invention to complement supports of any one of the aforementioned types, where advisable, with supports of a different kind which are better suited to the particular character of the ground; for instance, said supports may be buttresses borne through abutments on a cliff or on the retaining wall of an embankment.

Each of the said tracks which are supported by the said gantries, standards or buttresses consists of a pair of opposite L-sectioned beams or girders 25, 26 which are braced to each other by a girder 27.

The horizontal flanges 29, 36 of said L-sectioned beams are sufliciently broad at their upper faces 33, 34 to provide runways for the twin wheels 35, 36 of the vehicle trolleys, which faces preferably are armoured accordingiy. The wheels 35, 36 are fitted with pneumatic tires. The end faces 37, 38 of the horizontal flanges 29, 39 are spaced uniformly throughout the track. Preferably, they are armoured e. g. by means of angle irons for the purpose of providing runways for horizontal guide rollers 46, 41 carried by the trolley. In other words, the two horizontal runways are separated by a slot lined with a pair of opposite parallel vertical runways. The guide rollers 4! 41 are provided with resilient pneumatic or solid tires.

The vehicle trolleys 24 include a frame 42 in which a pair of axles 44 are mounted which are driven through bevel gears 4-5 provided at either'end of the shaft 46 of an electric motor 47. Said motor is supplied with power through a pair of shoes 49 resiliently pressed into contact with conductor wires 50 suspended through catenaries from the bracing girder 27. The controllers and like devices for the operation of the motor such as the switches for the control of the various circuits are arranged within the car body. Braking resistors are arranged on the roofs of the cars between the trolleys. It is to be noted that the wheels are provided with jaw brakes 48.

Mounted at the ends of the frame 42 for free rotation about vertical axes are roller pairs 40, 41 which run on the vertical sides 37, 38 of the L-shaped girders to keep the trolley centered on its track.

The frame 42 extends downwardly in a pair of vertical cheeks 51, 52 which support a hemispherically recessed bearing block 54 in which is socketed the similarly shaped upper end 55 of a bolt 56 from which the car body 23 is suspended. The bearing block 54 is formed in its bottom with a conical aperture 58 to allow the bolt 56 to assume an angular position in all directions relative to the axis of the bearing block. Shock absorbers 59 are secured at their one ends to the socket 54 which is rigid with the frame 42 of the trolley and at their opposite, ends to the body 23 of the car for the purpose of limiting the amplitude of the oscillations of the car body about the centres of the ball-and-socket joints from which it is suspended.

The traffic on tracks of the kind described hereinbefore requires the provision of switches at various points in the system. Said switches (see Figs. 8 and 9) consist of a pair of L-sectioned girders 60, 61 and a pointed girder 62.. Said girders 61 are formed with horizontal flanges 64, 65 which provide continuous runways and abut the corresponding flanges of the adjacent track sections, yet the width of which vary from the one to the other end of the girder. Swingably mounted on a vertical pin 66 at the end of the girder 62 is a metal nose girder 67 which includes a vertical web 69 and a pair; of thin horizontal webs 70, 71 extending to either side of the foot portion of said web 69. Said flange rest on the horizontal flanges 64, 65 of girders 6t), 61 depending on the position of the nose girder 67. The horizontal flanges 64, 65

of girders 60, 61 are wider than, girders 20 in their portion which is to accommodate the nose girder 67 as the latter is swung about its pivot pin 66. The distance between the edges 74, 75 of the horizontal flanges 64, 65 increases progressively in the direction towards the end of the pointed girder 62 and run at either side of the same parallel respectively with the edges 76, 77 of runways 80, 81 provided at either side of said pointed girder 62.

With the switch in the position shown in Fig. 8, in which the line is switched to the right, it is the edge 82 of the nose girder 67 which provides the guideway for the roller 40 as a continuation of the guideway 37 of the track section 20. The guide roller 40 runs successively on said guideway 37, a short portion of guideway 75, guideway 76 on the pointed girder 62 and then on the guideway on the normal girder belonging to the right track. The runway for the wheels 35, 36 includes the flange 33 of girder 20, the flange 70 of girder 67 and the flange of the pointed girder 62. As to the guideway for roller 41, it consists of the edge 74 of girder 60.

With the switch in the position shown in Fig. 9, in which the line is switched to the left, the roller 41 runs successively on guideway 38, a short portion of guideway 74, guideway 83 providing the edge of the flange 71 of nose girder 67 and guideway 77 on the pointed girder 62. The roller 40 runs on the guideway 73 at the edge of girder 61.

As shown in Fig. 7, the structure composed of girders 60, 61, 62, 67 is supported by gantries 35,86, 87. The nose-girder 67 is supported by a pair of bridges 89, which serve to operate the switch. Bridge 89 i (see Fig. 12), supports a power carriage 91 running on rails 94 and supplied with current through a conductor rail. The operation of said carriage is controlled through a fixed apparatus 93. Saidcarriage supports the vertical web 69 of the nose girder 67 and provides for the shifting of said girder from one position to the other.

The bridge 90 supports an idler carriage 95 from which the web 69 of the nose girder 67 is suspended in the middle portion of the same and which partakes of the displacements of said nose girder. Means are provided to lock the latter in either end position of the same.

The power supply wires 50 are interrupted off the bridges 89 and 90 to clear the way for the carriages 91, 95 in their transversal displacements.

Provided on top of the girders which carry the tracks and switches are supports 96 for the laying of the various cables )7 required for the operation of the system.

Arranged on the switch-supporting gantry 87 are switchsignal panels 98.

Changes of minor importance may, of course, be made in the arrangements which have been described hereinbefore merely by way of example.

What I claim is:

1. Overhead urban railway comprising a boxdikc girder, a slot of constant width in the lower face of: said girder, said lower face forming a pair of spaced substatitially horizontal flat runways, said runways ending in vertical faces opposing each other and defining therebetween said slot, trolleys mounted on pneumatic tired wheels in running engagement with said runways, hori- Zontally' arranged guide-rollers on said trolleys in rolling engagement with the. vertical faces of the, runways, a car body rsuspendedgfrom, said trolleys below the aforesaid runways, and prime movers, on at least some of said trolleys in driving connection with at least some of the wheels of said trolleys, the lateral forces originated on operation of the railway by oscillations of said car body being transmitted by said guide-rollers to said box girder and balanced within, said box girder by the torsional resistance thereof.

2. Overhead urban railway comprising a box-like girder, a slot of constant width in the lower face of said girder, said lower face forming a pair of spaced hori- Zontal runways, trolleys mounted on wheels with horizontal axes, said wheels being in running engagement with said runways, horizontal guide rollers rotatably mounted with vertical axes on said trolleys, said guide rollers being in guiding engagement with said girder, universal joints having their one end fixed to said trolleys and. their other end. freely depending from said trolleys, a car body attached to said other end of said universal joints and, suspended from said trolleys below the aforesaid runways, shock absorbers having one end attached to one trolley and an opposite end attached to said car body, and prime movers on at least some of said trolleys in driving connection with at least some of the wheels of said trolleys, the lateral forces originated on operation of the railway by oscillations of said car body being transmitted by said guide-rollers to said box girder and balanced within said box girder by the torsional resistance thereof.

3. In an overhead railway, a supporting structure, a box-like girder supported by said structure, the bottom face of said girder comprising two. flanges forming a pair of horizontal runways, said flanges ending in vertical faces forming vertical runways opposing each other, trolleys mounted on pneumatically-tired wheels in running engagement with said horizontal runways, resilientlytired guide-rollers on said trolleys in rolling engagement with said vertical runways, universal joints having their one end fixed to said trolleys and their other end freely depending from said trolleys, a car body attached to said other end of said universal joints and suspended from said trolleys below the aforesaid runways, shock absorbers having one end attached to one trolley and an opposite end attached to said car body, and prime movers on at least some of said trolleys in driving connection with at least some of the wheels of said trolleys, the lateral forces originated on operation of the railway by oscillations of said car body being transmited by said guide-rollers to said box girder and balanced within said box girder by the torsional resistance thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Cody Nov. 19, 1889 (Other references on following page) 5 6 UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,876,994- Franqis Sept. 13, 1932 5 7 0 cranston Oct 17 1393 2,051,857 spulflef 24, 1936 3 7 233 Mann Oct. 1 1907 2,503,120 Meyer P 4, 1950 921 750 Strauss May 13 1909 2,623,475 FY3531 1952 935,780 Dahlin et a1 Oct. 5, 1909 5 2,630,075 Omsted 31 1953 1,128,029 Montgomery Feb. 9, 1915 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,305,415 Steffens June 3, 1919 1,454,937 Martin May 15, 1923 mm igff aa 'g1531 11566 1930 1,864,323 Sheridan June 21, 1932 1,875,966 Webb Sept. 6, 1932 

